Lawns can require exorbitant amounts of time and money to maintain. With a few alterations to your lawn and maintenance routines that help the environment, you can save in many ways. Follow these tips to achieve a verdant lawn for a fraction of the price and effort.

Minimize Your Lawn

Ted Steinberg’s “American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn” states Americans collectively spend about $40 billion every year on lawn care. Suffice it to say, there is plenty of room for homeowners to cut costs. Your first savings consideration should be reducing the size of your lawn — part of a process called xeriscaping. Minimizing your grass lawn requires the planting of native, drought-tolerant plants. There are also several turf grasses like buffalo grass and blue fescue mixtures that need only minimal mowing and watering.

Mower Alternatives

Gas-powered walk-behind mowers, though most commonly used, are not the ideal mowers for lawns. One alternative is the zero turn mower, which functions as a two-in-one mower and grass trimmer that cuts so closely around lawn obstructions that homeowners need not worry about further trimming. Another mower that can save you bundles of cash is the push reel mower. These manual mowers are the least expensive mowers one can buy, and they require zero gas, oil and very little maintenance. Plus, many users claim that push reel mowers are superior when cutting grass and engender healthier lawns as a result.

Water

In addition to minimizing your lawn and thus reducing the volume of water needed, there are even more methods to save water. The first method is to keep track of rain in the weather forecast. Set up rain barrels to collect rainwater for the season and you’ll save countless dollars on your water bill. Watering infrequently but deeply is another watering motto you should keep in mind. Feel six inches beneath your lawn’s surface — if the soil remains wet, no watering is necessary.

Composting

Rather than paying for expensive, environmentally-harmful fertilizer, turn to a cheaper and safer alternative. Much of your organic waste such as peels, vegetable scraps and grass clippings can be composted and transformed into a free soil amendment for your lawn. Visit HowToCompost.org for further information.

Outdoor Lighting

Are you using incandescent bulbs to light both inside and outside of your home? Incandescent lighting is the least energy efficient — though, unfortunately, the most common — lighting used in homes. Incandescent bulbs are also deceptively cheap, but they’re the most expensive to operate in the long run. Far better, cheaper and more ecological alternatives exist for outdoor lighting.

By far, the cheapest lighting source is powered by free sunshine. Outdoor lighting fixtures with built-in solar panels require no electricity. Solar lights may require a steep payment up front, but will save countless dollars in the long run. Your other option is LED lights. LED bulbs provide sufficient lighting, yet don’t suck up nearly as much energy as incandescents require. They’ll last significantly longer as well.

Ava Morrison is a freelance tech, travel and health writer who resides in Tampa, FL. When she isn’t writing she is working out, playing guitar and soaking up the Florida Sun.